A Different Kind of Princess
by StardustAndShadowWings
Summary: Max is a princess with an attitude, Fang is the captian of her guard as she is forced to go to another kingdom. What will happen when they discover a plot to assassinate the King?
1. Chapter 1

** Okay people. This isn't my first story, I have a new story, Perfect, out for Maximum Ride, so please check that out and review. Also, I may not update as often after Christmas Break, because, unfortunately, I am still in shool, even though I could be teaching most of the classes. Please read and review, I don't really care about flames, so... whatevs, just review. Btw, Congrats to It's5o'clockinthemorning! Thanks for the sweet review, and for guessing the right song! Anyone else gonna get it? Go review and let's find out!**

**-My name is Jeremy, I am a line break. Bzzzz-**

I am Max, I live in the Feudal era, and I am a princess. Now, before we go into steriotypes, I am not stupid, I hate dresses, and I am more than capable of taking care of myself. My father, King Jebidiah, Jeb for short, rules the Northern Kingdoms. We are a harsh group, lackluster and only good for farming. In addition to our glorious kingdom, there are two others, the Sea and Southern Kingdoms. The Sea Kingdom is mostly made up of fishermen and log- cutters. (AN: Imagine the Sea Kingdom to be like Washington State.) The Southern Kingdom is mostly miners and fruit growers.

We couldn't really survive without each other, but tensions were rising between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, so I was being sent as a negotiater because I am so well known for my lovely temper. (Sarcasm people, sarcasm.) So, today being my last day, my handmaids, Rebecca, who I call Nudge because that's what you have to do to get her to shut up, and Angel were dressing me up.

"Oooooh, Max! You would look so pretty in this one!" Nudge nearly yelled, holding up a darker sea-green dress with gold embroidery along the sleeves and hems, with an off the shoulder neckline.

"No, Nudge, I am not wearing that."

"Please, Max?" Both girls were now looking at me with huge puppy dog eyes, no. That wasn't the right word for them, Bambi eyes. That's it. Bambi eyes, and that's all I needed to cave to their inevatible will.

"Fine, but," I interupted their cheers, "no make-up and no jewelry. And that's final," I don't normally inforce any rules, but the make-up and jewelry was just something I couln't stand. As it was, I hated my dress, and I didn't need anything else making me irratible today. Luckily, the girls had no problems with this.

After I was dressed, i went straight to the stables to see me horse, a spirited chestnut mare I named Firestorm. As I walked in, I saw a horse I hadn't seen before, a black stallion with something of a temper, as he wouldn't let any of the other horses anywhere near his stall, and reaching over and nipping them if they tried. I called one of the stablehands over and asked him about the stallion. He told me that a transfer knight had come from the Sea Kingdom and was to be their ambassador and part of my guard.

Once I had ensured that Firestorm was ready for our trip starting tomorrow, I went to the King's Camp, a huge castle perched precariously on the side of a cliff. They had wanted me in a meeting the minute I hauled my lazy self out of bed, but horses are more important than parents, right? As I walked through all of the rich decor, plush carpets, golden statues, and other Royal Garbage, as I called it, I finally got to the meeting room, and was greeted with a very loud, "WHERE ARE YOU MAXIMUM RIDE?


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! I've had a ton of people visit and hit my stories! In two days I've had over a hundred hits! I'm so happy! And thank you to my beta xmoonlightxwingsx for accepting me on such short notice! You go girl! Please continue to review an check out my stories Perfect and A Goodnight Kiss and review those too! Luv U Guys! Oh, and you will see some names, like "Wind Goddess" and "Shadow Lord", those are some of the "Gods" in this world. **

**Max: When do I get to meet Fang?**

**Me: In this chapter if you cooperate and do the disclaimer, and I may bring him into the next chapters' AN too.**

**Max: Yay! Okay, Stardust does not own me, or the Flock, only this plot and she would appreciate if you used this plot to give a disclaimer to her too! Do I get Fang now?**

**Me: Fine. Only because you did it so well. **

**/ I am a line break. Fear me/**

"I am right here O' Great King Jebidiah."

"Maximum! You will not take that tone with me! Where in the name of the Wind Goddess were you?"

""One, I just did," I said, getting irratated, "And two, I was checking that Firestorm was ready for the two week ride you are sending us on for one reason or another."

Jeb sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. We both knew I had won this round, and that he couldn't punish me for no good reason.

"Fine Max, just... sit down somewhere and don't cause trouble."

"Since when do I ever?" I smugly replied. And just as I was about to seat myself in one of their extra soft, overstuffed chairs, a figure stepped out of the shadows and cleared his throat. Jeb started, which made me snicker. Honestly, that man couldn't survive a day in the wilderness on his own without his personal chef, medic, and army battalion.

"Oh, yes," he managed to stammer after a moment, "This is Sir Nickolai, he will be a guide in your battalion and he is the ambassador to the Southern Kingdom from the Sea Kingdom."

At the end of Jeb's little ramble, something caught my memory. The stable hand had said a knight had come to the Kingdom to be an ambassador. He was the one who owned the black stallion.

So, with sarcasm intact, I asked the knight, Sir Nickolai, "Are you sure we won't lose your horse at night? I don't want to be trampled when I go for a walk, and I would sure hate to see such a kind stallion impaled on a spear."

That infuriating pain of a knight just smirked like the insufferable, hot jerk that he was. Though, he wasn't that bad looking, he almost looked like his horse in a way. Ebony, shaggy hair that fell past his ears, coupled with his olive skin and obsidian eyes reminded me of the Shadow Lord.

"And what about yours?" He asked, "She might just be so skittish that when she sees a rabbit, she'll run off bucking. I would hate to see that happen to such a fair maid as yourself. I would just have to come and save you."

"The hell you would. I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

"MAX!" Jeb shouted, "You will sit this instant!"

"Why should I?"

"You are being disrespctful to our guest!"

"If he is going to be around us for a month or more, he'd better get pretty well used to my rudeness! And he started it!"

"This is NOT about who started it! You are a princess, and therefore expected to be more than kind to our guests!"

"Then you can take your expectations and shove it! I am not your average princess, I thought you had picked up on that after having to deal with me for fourteen years!"

"Leave this room right now young lady!"

"Fine! And, by the way, I am not a lady, nor a princess, at least, not in your books."

I stormed out of the room, seeing red because my stupid DAD wanted me to be a lady. Yeah, right. Like that was ever going to happen. I was too loud, too firey, too independent. I was never going to be rescued by some insufferable, unloving pain in the ass who can't keep his hands to himself, even if he was incrediblely hot.

God, what had happened to me? This morning I had woken up in a reasonably good mood, and now my day was going to get a hell of a lot worse in three...two...one...

"Max?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! In one day, I've had seven reviews! I Luv U Guys! Thanks xXxFoolishYoungAndInLovexXx for your review, and yes, it is that particular song. No, I am not going to tell people what it is in case they want to guess the name. I have a request. Will you guys give me your fav thinking songs that are age appropriate for a teen? I'm stuck on Parachute and Paramore. I need help with that. Now, without further ado, Sir Nickolai?**

**Fnick: Stardust doesn't own me, Max, or any of the other Flock members in this story. *Smexy smirk***

**Me: Thank you for that. Now, ladies, after you get done ogoling, if I get... 20 reviews, I will put a shirtless Fang in the next chappie.**

**/I am Dan. Stardust's dad thinks I am named after a crush/**

I turned to see an almost humble looking Sir Nickolai.

"What do you want?" I asked, not really wanting to deal with people right now.

"I want to... apologize.. for the way I acted in the meeting room."

Well, this was an unexpected turn in my day. First I make my dad angery, (not really unexpected), after I had been dressed up by Nudge and Angel. (The little traitors. They almost surely had known about Sir Emo and had dressed me up to get me a date.)

"It's fine," Wait, what the heck was I saying? Maximum Ride accepting an apology without the will-bending power of Bambi eyes? Jeez, I was going soft, "I was already having a rough morning, and having Jeb blow up on me is second only to Queen Brigid the Frigid trying to 'Make me a girl'."

He seemed somewhat shocked with my depricating talk of my step-mom, then he grinned, and said, "Well, I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't approve of Jeb's choice of girls."

"Yeah. You would've loved my real mom. Her name was Valencia, and she was the sweetest person. She would help her people and animals. She would've recognized the tension as the start of a war, and would have stopped it. She was amazing, but she died during the epidemic of the Desert Lands."

"That sucks."

I laughed bitterly, "You're always so blunt, and somehow that makes me feel better than every one of the well written sympathy speeches I've heard and pretended to like put together."

"Being blunt is my specialty."

I looked at him slyly, "Are you sure about that Sir Emo?"

And then he did something that lit up my day, no matter how much I would try to deny it. He laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Until tears were leaking out of his eyes and we were both rolling on the ground holding our sides, and totally out of breath. Finally, we sat up, still gasping. He smiled, revealing slightly pointed teeth, which gave me an idea.

"That's it!"

Confused, but still grinning, he looked at me, "What's it?"

"That's your nick name!"

Now, his old mask was slipping into place, "Explain," he said in a monotone. (Seriously, where does this guy get his emotionlesness?)

Rolling my eyes, I indulged him, "Instead of Sir Nikolas deMimsy Porpinorgan, I am giving you a nick-name. And from now on, you shall be known to all as Fang."

"Fang?"

"Fang."

And the darned boy just wouldn't quit smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, so I'm adding a new story to my group. I am taking over Hurt for ViridianLight, so if you like some of my stuff but want it darker, bloodier, and just plain more violent, you can look at the first chapters on my profile and then read my chapters a little farther down. Please review and tell me if it's awful, you like it, it's amazing, or flame it. I don't really care. I just want to know if my writing sucks so I can get better, so click the little hyperlink at the bottom with the talk bubble and tell me!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, nor the characters, and I was not alive in feudal times, so I have no clue what it was like, so please excuse any misinformation.**

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/Do I have to?/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

The bright morning light bounced through my tent walls and into my eyes, along with the voices of Nudge and Angel.

"Max, Max, get up! We need to do your hair and make-up! Oh, and you have to wear a dress today, but you can't fight us again like yesterday, you almost tore down the tent! What are we going to put you in, you could wear the blue dress with white embroidery, the pink one with gold on it, or the purple one Lady..."

"Nudge! One, I am wearing my brown and beige riding suit. Second, you both will be coming with me because, according to my parents, I can not dress appropriately for a state dinner. Third, did you know anything about the new knight in my regiment?"

"Oh, the cute, dark one? Yeah, we knew he was coming, but not that he would be so cute!"

"You guys are dead," I couldn't wait to get them alone, on a dark night, with a raiper...(**It's a kind of long, thin sword.**)

"Well," Angel said, well, angelically, "You might want to kill us later because we are leaving in two hours."

"Two hours! Why didn't someone wake me up sooner?"

"Because you were sleeping, and we didn't want to disturb you."

Growling, I threw on my brown riding pants with my small top and length jacket that went halfway down my thighs. As I went outside, I noticed all of the horses were saddled and ready to go, except two. My Firestorm and the black stallion belonging to Fang.

_Oh, great._ I thought._ What a lovely way to make my day better dear Fangles._

So, with wit and sarcasm intact, I went to Fang's private tent to wake the lolligagger up. Without thinking, I barged into the tent without knocking and blushed hard enough to almost make my ears fall off.

He was halfway done dressing, his greaves and chainmail kilt strapped over his leggings, and his tunic pulled down only a few inches, exposing his chest.

_Gods above and below! How in the world did he get his abs to look like that?_ Without the stiffling obscurity of woven cloth covering his chest, Fang looked like Lord War marching into battle. on his cot was his elegant broadsword, which did capture my attention for a moment.

Finally, I cleared my head enough to proclaim in my best 'Listen to Me Now' voice, "We leave in one hour. Pull your stuff together, saddle your horse, and get moving, otherwise we are leaving you behind."

I turned away to feel his smirk and sinfully delicious eyes boring into my back. Holding my head high, I walked out to the stables to saddle Firestorm. When I got there, the stable hands remaining were torn between holding Firestorm and the stallion. They saw me and there was a universal cry of, "Princess!" So, to start, I went to Fire, who paused in her rearing and sqealing to watch me. I went up to her and scratched her neck, and whispered into her ear just for kicks, because even the most experianced of the stable hands hadn't ever seen anything like the way I could calm Firestorm. Then, once I got out of my thoughts, I noticed something; the stallion wasn't screaming anymore. His attention was fixed on a figure lounging on the doorway. As Fang came closer, the stallion bowed his head toward the ground, a kind of bow, I suppose.

I looked closer at the mysterious knight and one question came to mind, _'Who _are _you?' _ What kind of regular knight from the Sea Kingdom comes to the Northern Kingdom and serves as both a knight and their ambassador? What kind of knight had a horse nearly as fine as Firestorm, and when it sees him, it bows? Who are you Sir Nickolai?


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hi everyone! Ok, couple things to sort out to make all of our lives easier and **_**hopefully**_**, will let me update faster. 1)I am open to all forms of inspiration, and if you have ideas on anything I should write about, PM or review and tell me. Even if it involves writing song-fics and one-shots, I will at least consider it and work on it if I have writers block. 2) I am going to refer to this story in my other ANs as ADKP, and A Goodnight Kiss as AGK. Please don't get mad at me for not spelling it out, but it annoys me. 3) If you guys want to share some of the music you like, PM or review me and tell me the song and artist so I won't get confused. 4) I am also working on Hurt, originally published by ViridianLight, and you can check out both hers and my chapters on my profile via link under My Stories, which is below the long list of quotes in funny shapes. And... that's all for now, until I think of something else to put on here. So... Drink Chai, Live Life, Love Fax.**

**Fly On,  
>Stardust<strong>

**/*^*/ I am a lovely line break. Love me. I love you. :) /*^*/**

We had been riding all day, and most everyone was tired, sore, and dusty. Most of the horses were sweaty and panting, their normally gleaming coats soaked and dulled with sweat, and coated in a fine layer of dirt. Those that were were fat and out of shape, as were many of the horses in the Kings Regimen. Nudge and Angel were in their coach, pulled by four white horses, and naturally, they were complaining; about the weater, the slow speed, their make-up, their hair getting frizzy, it made me glad I wasn't like them.

Firestorm, unlike the slugs of the regimen, was hyper, her firey coat still shining under the midday sun. She was tossing her head, showing off her beautiful mane and arching neck. In addition to her, I noticed Fang's horse didn't have even a speck of dust on his metticulously groomed coat. His head was lowered in a classy manner, the deep green captians' banners hanging off of his reins complimenting his striking obsidian coat. He was in front, Firestorm and I in the middle, surrounded by gaurds, and right behind us was the coach carrying Nudge and Angel. Firestorm was getting antsy, and to be honest, so was I. So, I clicked my tongue and directed her to the front of the guard, pulling back to a steady trot alongside Mr. Macho himself.

"Enjoying yourself yet?" I asked him.

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, and I could've sworn I saw a little flash of amusement in there. "Sure," he muttered, "It's a lot more refreshing than what I did at home. There, it was extremely boring. I only had one friend, and I couldn't talk to him often."

_Now_, I was interested, "Who was your friend?"

He sighed, relenting, "His name was Aland*, he was the son of a duke who lived near our land. He came with his parents to the court often, so, as busy as I was, I didn't see him as much as I wanted to."

I wanted to know more about the secret life of this enigma of a knight, he was at the very least, an extremely intruiging person to talk to, if you could get him to respond. "What were you so busy doing?"

"I worked in the palace, doing odd jobs. I sometimes filed all of the documents to be sent to the court, rushed the shipping records to the treasury, basically anything that would keep me busy."

"Did you ever have any free time?"

Now, in my opinion, he was becoming a bit more relaxed in sharing his life story with me. He wasn't so reluctant to answer, and was a bit more forthcoming in his honesty.

"If I did, I was always out working with the horses or training with the weapons. Mother and Father were always fearful that I would get hurt, but I wanted to be a knight more than anything, so I didn't let anything stop me."

"Why didn't they approve of you being a knight?"

"Mostly because I had so many things I was expected to do, they thought that me traveling would disrupt everything. And I guess, in a way, it did."

I could understand that. My parents weren't exactly happy about my not being one of the defenseless princesses that would marry a guy the minute she layed eyes on him, so long as he had money and looks. If that were true about me, I would've been married off long ago, trapped in some dark, depressing castle, trying to get a hold of my fourteen children and preparing a feast for visting representatives of other kingdoms.

"I can understand why you went against your parents. Sometimes they have to learn that you are your own person and that they can't control you."

His face turned bitter, "And where did you hear that, O' smart one?"

I shifted, causing Firestorm's ears to flick back and forth, adjusting to this new stance. I looked him straight in the eyes, and said, "My parents have been trying to control me since the day I was born. They wanted me to be the perfect daughter, sweet, charming, and open to people. But I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of their pitiful child-raising techniques actually working on me. I have turned on them at every opportunity, firing insults, embarassing them, showing them up. Just because they raised me to be perfect, doesn't mean that I don't have a mind of my own that I am not afraid to use, and I am going to drive that into their thick, pig-headed brains until they are screaming and begging for mecry."

He didn't really seem disturbed or frightened by my little tantrum, in fact, he seemed more amused than anything. We both noticed at the same time that the rest of the guard was watching us, tense and alert. I was really going to have to teach them to watch what is going both inside _and_ outside our little caravan.

"Alright,_ Princess_," he said with mock formality, "You should go back to your place. We don't want your guards getting nervous now, would we?"

First I looked at our little band, who were sweaty, dusty, and tired. Then at the Sun; which was now a good bit lower in the sky, shillouteing the mountians we were riding toward.

"Ride for another hour, then find a clearing to stay the night. That sum light is going to fade fast the minute it goes over the mountians."

"Aye, Princess." And with that, I turned Firestorm around and settled back into my place. The incredibly boring middle, where nothing ever happens and there is no one to talk to. But at least I get to ride my own horse.

**/*^*/ I am a sad line. Feel sorry for me. I am sad. /*^*/**

***Aland means 'bright as the sun'. I am going to have a twist in the next chapter or two, and Fang will get yet another name. Jeez, how many layers does this boy have? Anyhow, R&R, tell me what you think. Oh, and say that you feel sorry for the sad line break, andI will make him feel happy... next chapter. Drink Chai, Live Life, Love Fax.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! I am going to make this short and sweet, just because I'm in the mood. 1) I have had over 1,000 hits to this story alone! *Celebration confettie and trumpet fanfare* Thank you, thank you. 2)I would like to thank everyone who has read this story, twice to those who have reviewed, and three plus to those who have reviewed more than once, PM'd me or responded to one of mine, or said they felt sorry for my last line break. 3) I want you people's opinion. Should I do another one-shot with the song inspiration like AGK and Perfect, or just work on this? And... that should be all, sooo, Drink Chai, Live Life, Love FAX.**

**Yours**

**~Stardust.**

**~/*^*/~ I am now a happy break. I love butterflies.*Chases the butterflies until spun stupid.* **

We had come to a stop in a tiny little meadow near a stream. The mountian pass couldn't be more than a four hour ride from here. The forest around us was old. Older than the waterfall near the village, all of the trees here were three, four, five hundered years old and nearly fifteen strides in width.*

The soldiers slid off their horses most ungracefully, groaning and moaning the entire time, and nearly buckling under their own weight when their feet hit the ground.

I, on the other hand, swung off of Firestorm, abit with her grumbling**, (AN, my horse does this too! Any time we try to excersize her, she starts snorting and grumbling, and I'm not kidding, she will lay her head on your chest and BEG to not have to work.)**, and landed near silently. I looked over at dear Fangles, just as he was swinging his leg over the saddle, giving me a _very_ good view of his well-toned back, side, and a little bit of his... butt...? A very akward postion, which wouldv'e been worse hada blushed, giving away that I was looking. Not a very classy thing to do, but, who can resist the chance to watch an incredibley cute guy get off his horse? I mean, really?

Snapping myself out of my self-induced gaze, I ordered the tents to be set up, the food to be cooked, and the horses to be tied. Everyone did as I said without so much as a mutter of tiredness. I didn't want to have to be so harsh, but if I wan't, they wouldn't listen to me at all, and then I would be worse then Brigid the Frigid.

Nudge and Angel watched two of the younger soldiers set up their tent. When it was finished, the boys stepped back and let the girls enter with a hungry look in their eyes, which I quelled by stalking over to them and dismissing them to the next tent and telling them that the girls were not to be disturbed by anyone who didn't have my permission. Yes, I realize that was a bit rude, but I was not going to let either one of them get hurt, the same as with Firestorm; I would rather have myself get hurt than one of the people I love.

So, a few hours later, the camp was set up, the food almost ready to eat, the tents standing correctly, the horses tied, and everything ready for tomorrows' departure. We ate, we talked, and about eleven o'clock, judging by the stars, everyone went to their own tents. nudge and Angel were the only ones that shared, all of the soldiers had their own, and so did I.

I tried to sleep,tossing and turning in different positions on the cot, meditating, anything that would possibly get me to sleep. However, Lord Sleep and Lady Dreams decided not to join me tonight.I guess they were taking a break from my sarcastic thoughts an having a night to enjoy Nudge and Angel's fashionista minds, which I didn't see the point of.

Reliquishing my desire of sleep, I stepped outside the tent cautiously, afraid that the guards would attempt to send me back to my 'room'. Not that I couldn't deal with them, I just didn't want to have to enforce my will upon all those who dared disobey me, as my charming and lovely step-mother would say.

Thankfully, they were asleep, as were most of the horses, including the lovely Firestorm. I did, however, see that Fang's horse was wide awake, ears forward, head raised, tail swishing. I walked over to him, he turned his head and watched me approach, but didn't react. I swear, the thing is worse than Fang when it comes to hiding emotions and reactions.

I reached out to pet him and he lowered his head. I rubbed right above his eyes and scratched behind his ears. He didn't seem to mind, and nudged my shoulder if I slowed down.

I was lost in my thoughts, absentmindedly rubbing the head of the horse who was in front of me, when a dark voice softly called from behind me, "His name is Blaxton*."

I slowly turned after petting Blaxton one more time, and said, "Thank you, Fang. And may I ask where you've been?" My voice had gradually gotten harder, and by the end was as sharp as glass and cold as ice.

"Well, I could tell you, but then that would ruin the fun, now, wouldn't it?"

I rolled my eyes. This was just like Fang, be stupid and arrogant and think that the world would just bow down at his feet.

Suddenly, I felt tired, "Goodnight Fangles," I said around a yawn., "Be ready to wake up at the crack of dawn."

He smirked at me, "Goodnight Maxie-kins. See you in the morning."

/)*(/ My name is Lestelle. I am a beautiful line break. /)*(/

Unknown POV.

I spotted the camp through my spyglass, and found something truely amazing. He was there! Talking to a girl who was standing near his horse, and he almost looked...happy?

"Sergant," I whispered, "Come and look at this."

"What is it Page?" He said in his gruff manner. I handed him the spyglass.

"By the gods above and below," His normally rumbling tone was now soft and breathless, "Is that,"

"Yes, Sir," I replied, "It most surely is."

He turned his head toward me, "We must tell the King and Queen. Prince Brenner* has been found."

/:)(:/I am a very happy line break. I get to read this story. /:)(:/

**Booyah! So, whatcha guys think? Blaxton means 'black stone', considering he is nearly as dark as Fang himself, and Brenner means 'little raven'. I was going to name him Brainard, which means 'bold raven prince', but it just didn't sound right. Review please! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**OMGGGGG! Total Nudge moment, I know, but really, you guys are amazing. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, put me on their favs and alerts...Love you all. Special shout-out to Amaya Calypso Yuumei for her fantastical reviews and PMs. She is an amazing person to talk to, and is hilarious! I could go into all of the story stats, but that would take too long, so suffice it to say that I love you all for the enormous amount of reviews, view, and PMs. Drink Chai, Live Life, Love Fax. :)**

**Fly on,  
>~Stardust<strong>

**P.S I don't own MR, only the plot, so... the characters are not mine. ;)**

**)/*(/Teehee! My name is Alicea! I love Fanfiction! I love people too! TeeHeee!/)*(/**

We woke up around dawn the next day. We ate and talked and laughed, except Fang, who was sitting near the edge of camp, not talking to anyone. After we ate, we packed up our belongings, rolled our tents, and prepared ourselves for the journey ahead.

Today we would be crossing the mountian path, the treacherous sliver of land between the mountian that was prone to avalanches, landslides, and blizzards. I prayed to Lady Ice that we would make it through without any major injuries, frostbite included.

Firestorm flicked her ears constantly today, and wouldn't sit still. She arched her neck, tossed her mane, stamped her feet, bared her teeth, and was in general, in a bad mood. I saddled her, much to her displeasure, but she knew better than to act up even more than she already was. I mounted, and saw Fang hving the same problems with Blaxton as I had with her. The rest of the horses were relatively calm, so I wondered if it was just a thing between them. I dismounted and held Blaxton steady while Fang finished saddling him.

"Thanks for helping," Fang said, "But I know that you want something out of it, so cough it up."

"Well, look who woke up on the wrong side of the owls' nest," I grumbled, "And is it really so hard to believe I would do something just for the kindness?" I looked up at him through my lashes at the end, which he rolled his eyes at.

"To be honest," he retorted, "It is. So just tell me what you want, because the faster you do, the faster we get out of the hell-hole we have to ride through."

He had a good point there. It was no use arguing when we could be riding. "Fine, I want to ride up front today."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it's not fitting for a princess." I snorted at that.

"Since when have I ever been an average princess?"

"It's not a question of whether you are an_ average_ princess, it's a matter of the fact you are a princess at all. Anything else?"

"You stupid, arrogant, self-absorbed, concieted PAIN! I HATE you! You have no respect for any one or thing besides yourself and occasionally your horse! You are a pitiful excuse for a knight, much less an ambassador!"

"I could say the exact same thing about you Princess, and hypocrisy is never a good thing." His voice was warning me not to push him, and his eyes were blacker than I had ever seen them. I stormed off, and mounted Firestorm in a huff, holding my head high. I wound not give him the satisfaction of seeing that his words hurt me, even though Firestorm and Blaxton without a doubt could feel it.

/)-*-(/ I am a time skip. Call me Logan. /)-*-(/

We had been riding for about an hour, and we were now approaching the pass. It was a for-boding landscape; rocky, barren, and gray flecked with white. Great gleaming peaks rose high above us, threatening to trap us in their freezing embrace.

We had barely ridden into the echoing chamber when one of the gaurds let loose a gigantic, deep boom of laughter, which thundered up the mountian. We waited in silence for a moment or two, and my keen eyes picked up on a miniscule movement in the snow. I had ridden in front of Fang, despite his earlier remarks, so I signaled to quicky and _silently _back out of the chamber, but it was no good. The snow started tumbling down the slope at an alarming rate.

I abandoned any pretense of control and wheeled Firestorm aroud and shouted, "RUUUUUUUNNNNNN!"

Firestorm and I quickly took the lead, galloping around the rest of the company with a speed I had never seen in her. We led them in a diagonal path, the quickest way to the forest, which would be our only hope. I somehow knew that Fang was in the back, keeping everyone else ahead of the avalanche, and that the coach would be in the greatest amount of danger. We had reached the forest, and were still going all out. I called for the girls to be pulled out of the coach; and for those horses to be unhooked. I heard a wild clattering of wheels that said my orders had been followed.

Finally, we reached a shallow portion of river that all of the horses plunged through to the other side. Once I determined that the avalanche had halted, I started counting heads. Nudge, Angel, fifteen soldiers, twelve pages, thirty two horses, Fang... FANG!

"Has anyone seen sir Nickolai?" I wasn't used to calling him by his name, so I almost slipped and said Fang.

"No," Nudge said, "We thought he was with you."

I was desperate, and Firestorm seemed to echo my thoughts; she let loose a sky-shattering whinny that could've started another avalanche had there been anything left to move. After an agonizing moment, a much softer whinny reached our ears at the same time.

She wheeled around and took off running even faster than when we were coming down here. We were galloping too fast to really care about form, I was leaning over her neck, urging her to go faster, faster. I imagine we looked like nothing more than a reddish-gold blur as we wove through the maze of ferns, saplings, and ancient trees around us.

She pulled up short as we reached a clearing near the edge of the forest. The first thing I saw was Blaxton. Then I saw he was nudging a large, dark shape covered with a thick layer of frost and snow.

**/-*-/ Hahaha! I am Damien! I shall dominate the Earth!/-*-/**

**Mwhahahah! Bet you weren't expecting that were you? If I get... ten reviews I will let Fang live. If not, that kind of explains itself. ;) Love you all! Drink Chai, Live Life, Love Fax!**

**~Stardust.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN. YAY! I have 37 reviews, which makes me so happy! I will NOT be killing Fang any time soon, so you don't have to worry about that. ;) Thank you to every single person that read ADKP, and reviewed and I was wondering if you all thought that I should do a sequel, after I finish the bazillion chapters I'm going to do for this story. Shout out to WhySOSerious, who happens to be one of my most frequent reviewers. You go girl! Say hi or PM me if you want me to do a one-shot or have any idea of where the heck I should go with this. Without further ado, to the story!  
>Drink Chai, Live Life, Love Fax. ;)<br>~Stardust**

**/`)*('/ hey y'all! I'm Christy, I'm a line break! Glad to meetcha! /`)*('/**

I swung off Firestorm, who went straight to Blaxton, and began nosing his shoulder, and he returned the favor. Had I not been so worried about Fang, I probably would've been at least slightly disturbed by this.

I knelt down next to the black form which was covered by a hard layer of ice and snow. It could only have been Fang, trapped in a near airless chamber. First, I used the pommel, or hilt, of my dagger to crack the frost open. I started near his head and moved down to his feet. Then, I took the blade and carefully lifted each of the cracked pieces off of Fang. After that, I shifted Fang away from the ice and wrapped him in one of my wool blankets so he wouldn't freeze.

Blaxton had become interested in what we were doing, so I called him and Firestorm over. Blaxton put his head on Fang's chest as I was lifting him up towards the saddle I had on Firestorm. It was like they both knew what I was doing, and were cooperating with me. Together, Blaxton and I lifted Fang onto Firestorm's saddle, and I mounted behind him. We set off back toward camp at a trot, and arrived fairly quickly.

I knew Fang wasn't warm enough yet, so I found a shallow, secluded area in the river, willows surrounding a rocky pool that was sunny enough to be warm. I had Firestorm bring him over to me, and I pulled him off of her saddle, laying him down on one of the larger rocks. With a sense of trepidation, I slowly took off his shirt, which was still crusted over with snow, which would NOT help him warm up. Then his chain-mail was next to his shirt. Again, metal is COLD. Not the best thing for someone who probably has hypothermia and frost-bite. Then I pulled off his jerkins, so he was in his breech clothes, **(AN: that's an old term for BOXERS people, minds out of the gutter please. ), **in front of me. Holding my breath, I slid him gently into the water, careful to keep his head above the water line. As expected, he started shivering almost immediately, which was a good sign. It meant that he was getting his feeling back, instead of lying still like the dead.

Knowing I would kill myself later, I pulled off my jacket and boots and threw them by his clothes, which I had lain out to melt and dry. Then I slipped in next to him and began slowly running my hands up and down his arms, humming an old melody my mother, my REAL mother had taught me when I was young and couldn't sleep. She had also taught me the words that went with the song.

"_Sing little angel, sing of your heart._

_Sing to Lady's Fire and Ice,_

_Lord's light and Shadow_

_Sing of the birds in_

_Lady Forest's mighty boughs_

_Sing of the waves _

_In Lady Ocean's home_

_Sing of the tear (__**rhymes with deer)**_

_That floats in between_

_The worlds_

_Sing of the lost_

_Kings and Queens_

_Sing to grant your wings_

_Sing your little melody"_

Now, normally, I wouldn't sing because it reminded me too much of my mom, but now, it just seemed like the right thing to do. Unconsciously, as I was singing, I had gone from stroking Fang's arms to tracing the hard planes of his stomach and chest. I could feel his heart beating fast and hot under my hand, and it made me feel better that I wasn't going to lose the infuriating and incredible guard any time soon.

A small, rasping voice made me start out of my reverie, "Don't stop."

I smiled to myself, 'Only for him,' I thought.

"_I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing_

_Just prayed to a God that I don't believe in_

_While I got time and she got freedom_

'_Cus when a heart breaks no it don't break even._

_Her best days will be some of my worst_

_She finally met a man who's going to put her first_

_While I'm wide awake she's no trouble sleeping_

'_Cause when a heart breaks no it doesn't break even._

_Oh, what am I supposed to do when?_

_The best part of me was always you_

_And what am I supposed to say, when _

_I'm all choked up that you're ok_

_I'm falling to pieces, I'm falling to pieces_

_They say that things happen for a reason_

_But no wise words going to stop the bleeding'_

'_Cause she's long gone while I'm still grieving _

'_Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't break even_

_Oh, what am I going to do?_

_When the best part of me was always you_

_And what am I supposed to say_

_When I'm all choked up that you're ok_

_I'm falling to pieces, yea _

_I'm falling to pieces, yea_

_I'm falling to pieces_

_I'm falling to pieces_

_(I'm still alive but the other one's leaving_

_'Cause when a heart breaks no it don't break even)_

_Oh you got his heart and my heart and none of the pain_

_You took his suitcase - I took the blame_

_Now I'm trying to make sense of what little remains_

_Oh cause you left me with no love in order to my name_

_I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing_

_Just praying to a God that I don't believe in_

_'Cause I got time while she got freedom_

_'Cause when a heart breaks no it don't break no it don't break no it don't break even_

_And what am I going to do when the best part of me was always you_

_And what am I supposed to say when I'm all choked up that you're ok_

_I'm falling to pieces yeah _

_I'm falling to pieces yeah_

_I'm falling to pieces_

_I'm falling to pieces _

_(I'm still alive but the other one's leaving.)_

_('Cos when a heart breaks no it don't break even)_

_Oh it don't break even no, ohh_

_It don't break even no, ohh_

_It don't break even no"_

"You have a beautiful voice, Max."  
>I turned and smiled at the boy still lying down beside me.<p>

"Why did I have to save you, boy? I thought you were the one who was supposed to be saving _me._"

He smiled cheekily, "I thought I had already crossed over when I heard you sing. If I wasn't so violently cold, I would have believed I was dead."

I rolled my eyes, "You boys are all the same. When you aren't cocky, you're arrogant, and when you aren't arrogant, you're conceited, and when you aren't conceited, you're cocky."

"What about when we are nice?"

Giggling inside, since Maximum Ride does not giggle, I said, "That in itself is a miracle worthy of praise to Lady Luck herself."

"What happened to being respectful of the deities?"

"I am Maximum Ride, since when am I ever respectful?"

"You shouldn't answer questions with a question."

"Yet another rule I have broken."

He grinned at me, and I grinned back. During our entire exchange, I had not quit tracing designs on his chest, which was still submerged. He seemed to notice it for the first time and shakily closed his eyelids. I had the abrupt desire to lay butterfly kisses all along his face, hold myself close to him, and talk like there was nothing else in the world that needed our attention.

"If you want me to not go berserk and end up doing something I really shouldn't, I would suggest that you stop."

That sentence in itself was surprising, but what scared me more was his voice, deep and dark and rasping as much as silk can.

I stifled a gasp at his words, and his eyes opened, darker than I had ever seen them, as dark as the gap between the stars.

I was frozen in place as he leaned slowly, closer, closer, closer.

**/(*~*)/ Hey! My name is Ali, and I am a line break. /(*~*)/**

**Ha! To all the people who were hoping for extreme Faxness, sorry, but I promise, cross my heart, hope to sing, and take a chainsaw to my wing, that I will put some in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed the OOCness, because there (hopefully), won't be much more of that from now on. **

**Drink Chai, Live Life, Love Fax.**

**~Stardust**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Listen, I want your opinion. I was thinking about ending AGK, and starting a new story set after Fang. I promise that it won't be cliché, and I was hoping you guys would approve. Of course, I'm not going to start it, only to put it on hiatus because no one will read it. Uh, shout-out to RandomReader19, who reviewed, but girl, that is so NOT what Max was doing. She was checking his pulse and making sure that he stayed warm. Without further ado, here is my disclaimer and the story!  
>Drink Chai, Live Life, Love Fax,<br>Stardust.**

**Disclaimer: I am not JP, so Maximum Ride and its' assorted characters do not belong to me.**

**~/)*(/~ .My name is Leah, and I am a line break. ~/)*(/~**

_Previously: 'As he leaned closer, closer, closer._

I looked into his eyes, not going anywhere, frozen in place from his intimate closeness. As he was about six inches from my face, he stopped too; neither one of us wanting to disturb the simple peace that we had unexpectedly stumbled upon. We just stayed like that for a while, not moving, barely breathing. I stared at him, trying to read him from his eyes. As dark as they were, you could see just a little bit of emotion. Was it uncertainty? Caring? Was it fear? I got the feeling that he knew that I was scared, and that he knew I knew. I also felt that he wanted me to trust him, more than anyone he had met before.

He leaned closer, ever so slowly. I could see the tiny golden flecks in his eyes, the particular sparkle they reflected as the afternoon sun beat down on them. Ever so softly, I felt the brush of his lips on mine. They were slightly chapped, slightly tough, and slightly cold. But at the same time they were silky, soft, and warm.

We stayed like that for a time, but then he began pushing a little harder. I acted on instinct by kissing him back, and in the back of his throat, he made a low moan that sent shivers down my spine. He nipped at my bottom lip, so I nipped back. The kisses became hotter and more playful after that. I released all of my pent-up feelings for this infuriating, fantastic guard of mine. He seemed to do the same, but anyone else wouldn't be able to tell. I could feel the small signs that showed he cared: his quivering when I pressed closer to him, the tiny moans he was making in the back of his throat, and other little things.

We reluctantly pulled away for air, and only then I realized the full magnitude of what I had done. If anyone found out about this, Jeb would have my head, I would be denounced, and most of all, I would lose the fear of my subjects that had dubbed me the 'Invincible Maximum Ride', because…I was. I had hardly ever gotten hurt, and when I did, I could still push through anything. I had instant respect from all of the animals, livestock, horses, and domestic, it didn't matter. They all knew I was in charge. Most humans respected me, and those that didn't were all taught that I was, whether they wanted that lesson or not. I was the hard-core tomboy princess who took crap from no one, and no one ever tried to give me any.

The realization came to me, that I was scared. So, I did what I do best, situation or not. I ran.

I ran as far and fast as my legs would carry me, crashing through brush and vines, leaping over fallen logs, ducking over hanging branches, splashing through creeks, hopping rocks. Eventually, I got to an open meadow in the bottom of a valley.

_Finally!_ I thought. I opened my stride so my feet were barely touching the ground at all. I flew across the valley, felling like I was on top of the world. I was lighter than the wind that followed me, I was faster than the wolves that frequented the forest, and I was stronger than the oldest, tallest trees in the Northern Kingdom.

I closed in on the edge of the meadow, stopping for a breath. And that's when I blacked out.

**Fang P.O.V.** (First time for this, so don't hate me!)

I stared after Max as she darted away. I didn't get it, she was kissing me back not too long ago, and then she took off running.

_Well whatever it was,_ I thought to myself,_ you have to go and set it right before she hates you forever._

So I called over Blaxton, who butted my shoulder affectionately, as if he understood what I was going through. I laughed to myself at the thought. Horses can't understand human emotion, but they can feel distress, so Blaxton probably was feeling that and trying to make me feel better.

I threw on my leggings and jerkin (It's a shirt people.), and mounted Blaxton. Max's horse, Firestorm, I recalled, looked up at us and made a move to follow. I clicked my tongue, and she jumped in front, and set off at a brisk canter that ate the ground. Blaxton whinnied and followed her, keeping pace. Firestorm suddenly switched directions, following an almost indistinguishable path through the woods. We made good time, and soon came to a long, wide field in between the mountains and a range of hills. Firestorm let loose a fearsome neigh and galloped toward the opposite end, fast as the wind. Blaxton darkly followed her, silently gaining on her.

Firestorm wasn't too far in front of us when she stopped short and turned sideways, so we couldn't go forwards. I swung off Blaxton, intending to forcibly move Firestorm out of the way, but froze when I saw what Firestorm was protecting.

Max lay crumpled in a heap in front of Firestorm, seeming to have collapsed from dehydration or exhaustion. Kneeling to help her, I mentally calculated the distance in my head. If we were travelling at about 20 mph, and it took us about seven minutes to get here, that would be a little over two miles. With the time it took to get redressed and moving, that would be about ten minutes. Max had probably run this in eight minutes, which would be four minutes a mile, which could kill someone of lesser stamina. I opened Max's mouth and dribbled a little bit of water from my canteen into her mouth, then a little more. I made sure she swallowed it, and that her pulse and breathing stayed steady. Now, it was a race against time to get Max some serious help.

**And…there's you're cliffy! Enjoy for a week or so until I update! I hope you liked the Fax, and that you will tell me your opinions on my idea for a new story as seen in the top authors note. The more reviews I get influences how soon I write. And I don't care what you review on, the story, complaints, honestly, you could even tell me if there is a story you want me to check out and review. **

**5-10; I take my sweet time and do my algebra.  
>11-15; takes me a week.<br>16-20; I will put it up as soon as I can.**

**~Stardust**


	10. Chapter 10

**Love you guys! You have no idea how happy I was with your reviews. Shout out to kate childof athena for her….inspiring comment. Sorry it's been a while, that I'm late, yada, yada, yeah, yeah, yeah. I have had very rough week. And, I need advice; what do you do when you like a guy who has a pretty 'tough guy, stupid, arrogant' exterior, but you have also seen his sweet side, and you just can't stand him, all at once. VERY IMPORTANT! What do you guys think about me doing a non-cliché 'after Fang' story? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, as much as I love them.**

**~Stardust  
>) ~*~ (/ I'm a singing line break, La, la, la! /) ~*~ (/**

I picked up Max, holding her to my chest, trying to keep her heartbeat a constant sound near my throat. I swung onto Blaxton, praying that we would be fast enough. And even if we were, she wouldn't be able to go over the mountains in her condition. That meant that we would have to go through the Sea Kingdom, which was the last thing that I wanted. What made it worse was that this time of year, there were awful storms over the foothills, so we would have to go all the way to the Port Cities to cross correctly.

I shook my head, reminding myself that I should cross that wave when I came to it. Right now, I needed to get Max help, and come up with a respectable excuse for our being gone so long. Then, I noticed our position. It seems that Max's sense of direction was even better than I had realized, because we were not a half mile from the camp. I could see the smoke from the fires above the trees. I nudged Blaxton and Firestorm forward, wanting to get there as soon as possible.

We broke into the clearing, in the middle of a very important meeting; the soldiers were assessing each other's wounds, seeing how long it would until they healed. I slipped off Blaxton with Max still cradled in my arms, holding her carefully so as not to jostle her. One of the doctors came to me, motioning me to Max's tent. I walked in, and gently swung her onto her pallet. The doctor took out his medical instruments, and I was instantly wary. He listened to her heart, lungs, and something on her stomach.

He looked at me and said, "She is merely unconscious. It seems that she over exerted herself, and collapsed."

I nodded, that I already knew, "How long before she wakes up?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "That depends on her strength and the Courts' favor." **(The Court is like Lady Luck, Lord War, any of the afore mentioned deities.) **

If that were all, Max would be up in no time. She was the strongest, healthiest, prettiest, the most perfect… WAIT! When did I start thinking of Max like that? Sure, she wasn't the most beautiful princess, but there was something about her that made you so light that you just wanted to _live_. It was like she was the essence of life, or maybe fire. She was just that spectacular… FANG! You aren't a prince, duke, or lord! You shouldn't get close to Max; it will only make you feel worse. So I decided to distance myself as much as possible from her, and hope she took the hint. Maybe she will find a nice prince, have a family of her own, and be a queen, duchess, or lady. It was right, but then why did it make me so angry?

I was dragged out of my thoughts, and for a moment, I was almost angry, but then I realized why. Max was waking up, her pretty… NO! Her_ eyes_ fluttering open, looking slightly confused.

"Fang?" she asked, "Why are you here? And where are we?"

"Lovely, time for twenty questions again."

"No, dork," She was getting irritated, "Tell me where we are and why, before I _murder your face._"

This was too easy, "You couldn't hurt this work of art."

"You want to bet?"

I smirked, it was too easy to get caught up in our conversations, "Not really, I have to take care of some things, and you need to rest."

"Like what, your harem?"

I rolled my eyes, "No, we need to get out of here soon, before we have another avalanche started."

Snorting, she said, "Fine. Just make sure that they're still alive when you get done with them."

I smirked and ducked out of her tent. It was odd, because she had the same provisions as her soldiers, and she was happy about it.

I assembled the troops at the far end of the clearing, and said, "We leave in two days, make sure that we could be ready to leave before that."

One of the guards, a raunchy, potbellied man with a taste for liquor and women said, "What about our Maxikins? Is she alright?"

"She is fine," I said reluctantly, "But we will be leaving regardless."

"What did you do to her, man? I haven't seen her that awful looking, ever! Not even when she got thrown off her horse and landed on her head."

I sighed. I hated dealing with these kinds of guards, stupid and mouthy. "She got me out of the ice, and the minute I was warm, she passed out."

"Woo!" The guard shouted, "Lucky! Do you know how many guys have wanted in her pants since…"

"ENOUGH!" I roared; he was seriously over stepping the line, "You have just crossed the line! You are hereby discharged from this regiment. You are to turn over your horse and begin your way home."

The other guards were shocked; apparently they had never had a captain actually tell them what to do. "That goes for the rest of you as well. Max is a princess, and deserves to be treated as such. There will be no more comments or such about her that is anything but respectful! And the same goes for her Ladies-in-Waiting! They are a part of her court, and are to be treated with the same courtesy and chivalry as the Princess herself."

With that I stalked away from them, trying to cool myself down before heading into the main camp. Hopefully my little 'speech' would keep them in line for a little bit.

I was heading toward Max's tent, when the doctor appeared from inside one of the soldiers' tents, and looked me in the eye. "That was some speech you gave," he said, "And I'm beginning to wonder why it is that you care."

I took this opportunity to study him. He was around his late forties, slightly graying hair that once might have been blonde. I told him, "I care because I want a certain amount of respect from my soldiers, and if I have to discharge a few then so be it."

He made a skeptical little noise in the back of his throat, which brought my line of sight back to his eyes, which were a clear, hard blue. "Well then," he said, "I better let you go check on the princess then, shouldn't I?"

And with that, he walked off, without looking over his shoulder. "Just a moment, Sir Nickolai," I turned to him, "Max will not be able to travel through the mountain air for at least two weeks, or until she has fully recovered. So I would suggest that you take her through by the shoreline."

He turned back around and walked off without another word. I stayed still until he left, in case he had anything else to say, but he didn't.

That settles that. Since Max can't climb, that leaves only the Sea Kingdom. Oh, the joys to be had.

**)/ ~*~ / (Hey! I'm Rose! Nice to meet you! ) / ~*~ /(**

**Sorry about the filler, but it kind of had to happen. Give me any ideas that you have for this story, and I will be happy to consider them. PMs are enabled, so if you don't want to leave a review, you can PM me. Don't worry, I like talking to people! XD I hope to update soon!**

**Drink Chai, Live Life, Love Fax  
>~Stardust<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone! I am sorry it is taking so long to update, but, I was trying to work on Hurt, homework, and a whole bunch of other stuff at the same time. Thank you to FangsGirl823 for her awesome reviews, which are fairly consistent in all of the chapters! I'm sorry for not putting you up sooner, but I had a bunch of stuff. (Lame excuse, I know.) **_**VERY IMPORTANT! READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE! **_** Ok, I have a challenge for everyone. I want everyone who likes this story to go and look at Hurt, and review, telling me what I could do better. I want/need more people to look at it, so GO LOOK AT IT! Umm, I know I have been talking about posting a few new stories, yada, yada, yada, but, I am putting those on hold for the moment, until I can sort my thoughts out and put something on paper. Other than that, I have NO new announcements, other than that AGK is finished. **

**Drink Chai, Live Life, Love Fax  
>~Stardust<strong>

**~ /) *-*(/ ~ I am a line break, FEAR ME! For I am Darth Vadar! ~ / ) *-* ( / ~ **

_*Three days after previous chapter*_

Narrator's P.O.V.

The regiment had been riding for a full day, following secluded deer paths and streams if they were available. The path was often narrow, so they rode single file, the horses' hooves clattering against the river pebbles and squelching through the soft grass. Fang was leading, flanked by his top guards, and then came Max, then the carriage, and lastly, the rest of the soldiers, all of them grumbling about the strain of the trip.

Fang and Max seemed to be holding up the best, though even they were slowly wearing down. However, they were no longer speaking to each other. Max was being the proper, reserved princess that she was always taught to be; cold and intimidating. Fang was not going to start a conversation with her, if she was going to ignore him, then surely she had her own reasons, those he could not intrude on. The entire company could feel the tension rolling off of the two, and the black passion that connected them.

Suddenly, Firestorm's ears pricked up, and Max nudged her gently, taking her cantering up to Fang. The guards flanking him moved back, not wanting to be near the two when all Underland broke out. **(That is their kind of Hell, it's kind of confusing.)** Max rode silently for a few moments, taking in everything around her, away from the hubbub of the main company.

She looked at Fang out of the corner of her eyes, "I am riding ahead. I will be back soon," And with that she cantered off, hardly able to hear Fang's, "Of course, Princess."

She rode out of sight, letting Firestorm keep track of where they were going. Even if Max got lost, she would know the way back. Firestorm went off the path, plunging into the woods, towards a hidden grove, littered with foxglove, daisies, and other wild flowers, as well as a large amount of sweet grass.

Max giggled as she swung down, laying back and resting in the gargantuan patch of clover, trying to sort her thoughts into links that she could understand. It was her own form of meditation, she supposed, besides sleeping. Soon, she thought that she had her thoughts organized, but then something intruded on her state of mental contentment.

It was Fang.

What was she going to do about him? He was an amazing person, and they had a connection that wasn't just about saving each other's lives, although that certainly could be a part of it. It was something…different, she guessed. It was something strong and compelling. She could understand how he felt, and she was fairly sure that he understood her. The first few nights, where their insomniac personalities got the better of them, they would stay up talking until Lord Night's eye had just touched the horizon. **(She is thinking about Venus, not a completely different planet.) **They were inseparable, talking, laughing, and just being normal fifteen year olds. **Important AN! There is a reason I am making them so young! 1) That's just how things were then. They would marry young people off, and often they would have arranged marriages. 2) I don't want to make them too old, because that would throw off everything. And 3) I don't want to go **_**too**_** far away from the books, even though this is nothing like the books… 0-0.** They just wanted to be free of everything: responsibilities, titles, and anything else that was holding them down, and with each other, they could just…let go.

The midday sun was warm and welcoming as Max gently closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep.

**And THIS is a page break!**

**Fang's P.O.V**

I was trying to keep the rest of the regiment in line, but it wasn't going too well. My own anxiety over Max didn't help. I was getting more and more antsy by the second, and I still hadn't come on a trail of hers. I called the second-in-command over, and told him I was going to bring the Princess back. He looked at me, solemn and tired, before nodding, and saying, "I will stop here, so that you will be able to find us."

He was a good guy; I clapped his shoulder once, and took off after Max. I trotted forward, keeping my senses high and alert, hoping and praying for some sign of her. Just as I was beginning to worry, thoughts somewhere along the lines of _I shouldn't have let her go alone, it's my entire fault. Where is she?_ And _Court's Heart! What am I going to do if I can't find her? Not just for the Kingdoms', but for me as well…_, Blaxton picked up a scent. I swear that horse has the scenting capabilities of a bloodhound. However, in this case, it was positive, and not when I was trying to coax him into doing something with treats…

Blaxton sped up to a particular gait called a 'pace', which was a very smooth trot, and almost soundless. We seemed to glide through the trees, and soon came to a tiny clearing. I saw Firestorm grazing at some sweet grass with her tack still on, which consisted of a light saddle and blanket as well as a light bridle that had no bit. **(For all you non-horse people out there, blankets go under saddles; saddles are what you put your butt on. Bridles are the things that go around the horse's head, and a bit is what goes into the horse's mouth so you can 'rein it' which is pulling left or right on the reins, telling it which way to go. If you have any questions about horses, and that includes what you put on them to ride, review or PM me.)**

I was taken aback at the sight of Firestorm without Max at her side, but then I saw Firestorm swing her head over, not to look at me, but to look at something that was behind and to the right of me. I turned, and my cold blood warmed; for about two seconds before it froze.

Max was lying still on her back, completely still, looking as though she wasn't breathing. I rushed to her, gently picking her up in my arms. I was about ready to rush back to Blaxton, when she twisted in my arms and looked at me with big, bleary, beautiful eyes.

"Fang?" her snarky, half-asleep voice snapped me out of my trance, "Why the hell are you _here_, and not taking care of the regiment?"

I quickly glanced at our shadows, and mentally compared them with those we had when she left. About a 45 degree angle change, that equated to about a three hour time lapse, "Because you have been out here for three hours. We were starting to get worried."

I looked into her eyes, she looked into mine, "Yeah," she snorted at me, half sad and half angry, "I'd bet you all were. Couldn't wait to see the 'Indestructible Maximum Ride' get hurt, could you? Just wanted to show me that men really were better than women, wanted to see me in pain, didn't you?"

By the end of her mini tirade, tears were rolling down her face, unbeknownst to the beauty herself. I smiled at her gently, she was so oblivious sometimes. She looked at me, horrified, "It's true! You hate me! I am an awful person, aren't I? Just another girl you want out of a man's world, aren't I?"

"Shh, shh," I whispered to her, "No, you have it all wrong. Do you have any idea how much we all care about you?"

"Ha! If you cared about me, if my parents cared about me, if _anyone_ besides Firestorm really cared, where would we be? I would be at home, loved instead of feared, friends instead of allies," she was so upset, I don't think she could have stopped herself, "my parents wouldn't have to _pay people_ off just to come _meet _me! I would be accepted for me, not who I was supposed to be. I wouldn't have to break off arranged marriages every two seconds, and I would be able to do what I want without being reprimanded, and no one would be constantly trying to turn me into a 'proper girl'."

All I could do was hold her, listen to her sob her heart out. I knew that no words could help her right now; she just needed another person to be there for her. As she cried, I rocked her and slipped into my own thoughts:

"_Brenner!" Mother called, "It's time to eat!"_

_I pouted, being only six at the time, and wanted to work more with the colt that I had gotten as a present from the Southern Kingdom ruler, King Jarmon. The colt was completely black with tiny feathers on his feet. _**(Feathers are tufts of hair that hang over certain breeds of horses hooves. Most that went into war had theirs cut off because it was seen as a liability.)**

_I went inside through the smaller side door, hoping not to attract attention to myself, or, at least not as much as normal. Unfortunately, Father was home, and had seen me work with the colt all day, which he was not happy with._

"_Brenner!" he roared, "What have I told you about being with that horse all day? I told you that you need to start acting like the prince you are!"_

**/) ~*~ (/ Hewwo! Ma name ith Gertwude! I am thwree! / ) ~*~ ( /**

***Evil laugh* So, we learn a little more of Fang's past, and a little cliffie, and a little Maxykins drama! LOLz. R&R!**


	12. Chapter 12

**So, so, so, so, so sorry about the wait! I have had a BUNCH of really crappy stuff in my life, then my Wi-Fi went out, and I just got it today! Ok, I have a new story, Back to Back out, so… Go check that out. Love you all for the reviews and patience with my painfully slow updates!**

**~Stardust**

Max's P.O.V

Here I am, waking up (very rudely, if you want to know) by a paranoid Fang. Although, I suppose he had right to be upset; I'm not the best person when it comes to being on time. Then we started talking, and everything that I had been feeling for the past… as it really only been fifteen years? Fifteen years then, just kind of gushed. I had been reduced to a bitter, slobbering baby by this man- boy, I guess, he was no older than I. He just held me in his lap while I sobbed my tiny, cold, bitter heart out.

So, after I finished my sob-fest, I looked up at him, my eyes (I'm sure) were red and puffy, my face streaked with the salt and misery. He, however, wasn't paying any attention to me, staring off into the distance, wrapped in his own thoughts, so I decided to journey to mine. I laid my head on his chest, gently, and let memories, long buried, wash over me,

I was only about five or six at the time we were going to the Sea Kingdom. My father, whom I trusted at the time, said they had a prince, about my age, who I would be spending most of my time with. I remember the changing signs, how the trees would morph from the needle-covered pines of our kingdom, to the hardy deciduous trees with their golden and scarlet leaves. The mountains would change to the flatter, sea-bound plains, the rivers crisscrossing in dizzying patterns.

He was, as I remember, a very quiet child. He had black hair, a light tan skin, and… dark eyes. Sometimes you would think they were black, sometimes a dark brown, and every once in a while, a deep golden shimmer would incase the iris. He was tall and lean, and had one friend other than me that he got to see at all… But I couldn't remember anything else.

I sighed, dragged from my sparse memories by a very quiet sob escaping from the rock I was sitting on… Wait, rocks don't sob or cry! (Don't pay any attention to my moment of stupidity) I looked up to see Sir Smarty-Pants- oh, who am I kidding? - Fang's face twisted into an ugly grimace of pain and fear.

I reached up, cupping on side of his face in my palm, whispering sweet nothings while he silently cried. What's going on in his head to make him crack like that?

**Fang's P.O.V**

He pulled his belt off, bending me over the chest that had been in our family forever. He beat me in his drunken rage, wanting me to be the prefect child like my older brother Griffin, which I could never be. Griffin only used horses as tools, loved classes, and would, at some point, be taking the throne; whereas I would be crowned a duke or baron and be sent to live my life without regrets.

I held completely still while Father beat me and scolded me afterwards. He moaned and groaned as how I wasn't even good enough to be considered a part of Griffin's family, and what a disgrace I was on the family crest. I took everything in silence, just like he taught me; otherwise I would be beaten again.

I thought to myself how lucky I was that Max would be coming this summer; next week, in fact. We would compete to see who could run farther and who was stronger. And my friend Aland would be coming soon, with his new colt. He wrote to me last week, saying it was a really pretty white colt with big blue eyes. I wrote back, saying that the two of them were identical then, since they were both tall and pale with blue eyes. I don't think he thought was very funny, but I haven't heard back from him, so I wouldn't know.

I'm fairly sure that Max got her little filly for her birthday too. King Jargon sent us really big presents on our birthday every year, and I thought that he was pretty nice; Max and I didn't like his son, Prince Dylan, though. In her words, he was a 'conceited, filthy, slobbering, greedy fool who cared nothing for any one or thing besides himself.' Of course, had our parents not been there, she probably would have used some more 'colorful' language, seeing as how she had friends inside the Northern Palace who cussed like sailors, so said my mother.

Max and Aland were my only friends, seeing as how I was a prince, so the common people were 'below you, Brenner.' So, I wasn't allowed to play with them. And the royals always thought that my parents were 'disagreeable' or 'too punishing', which I totally agreed with.

*A week later*

"Nikolai," Max came bolting up the steps, "You have no idea how much I've missed you!"

She threw herself into a hug that knocked us onto the porch. She laughed, springing up, yelling something about her getting the first point this time. So, I snuck up behind her, tickling her hips, making her jump and squeal, before running off laughing.

I could vaguely hear her shouting, "Fang! Fang! **Fang! ****Fang!"**

"Fang!"

I woke up with a start, face to face with a very concerned and angry Maximum. I was confused, why was she waking me up now? Was there something wrong? She slid off my lap and knelt in front of me, looking me in the eyes, checking for lies just as she always had. Of course I recognized her, that was part of the reason I took the job, but she could never know who I was, unless we wanted the whole thing to go up in flames.


	13. Chapter 13

**Ok… I know I haven't updated in **_**forever**_**… and I have no excuse, sadly, but a broken wrist, which sucks. It is currently in a cast for the next six weeks… So… I'm sorry… :'( Please forgive me… And here's the update… Hope it's good!**

**/ (*) / Line Break! I missed you! / (*) /**

The unchanging forest scenery was making Fang's skin crawl. The dense trees cast ominous shadows on the half –frozen ground. Max had taken up the lead, her russet cape flowing down her shoulders and onto Firestorm's back, giving the illusion that they were one creature. Both of their heads were held high, regal and intimidating.

Fang knew Max wouldn't take the lead without being well-armed, but he still worried. The princesses he was used to dealing with, or even noble's daughters hid in their carriage and complained. Max was different, different to the point where it was disturbing. She carried herself differently; her regal and domineering position commanded respect and interest, whereas others gave them a small measure of grace and delicacy. She spoke differently as well, bold and commanding, instead of quiet and demure.

She was no ordinary princess, but perhaps it was not a bad thing. He whispered this to Blaxton, who seemed to agree, with a sense of humor: snorting and tossing his head, making a deep rumble in his chest akin to chuckling.

Max glanced back at the pair with humor in her eyes despite her quirked eyebrow. Fang touched his heels to Blaxton's side, and he trotted even with Firestorm, letting his mane ripple and his feet come high off the ground.

Max smiled at him, "Well, good morning, Blaxton," she said, "How are you?"

Blaxton snorted at her and shifted his position into one of nonchalance.

Max giggled at him, in her way. She then lifted her eyes to Fang's, all the mirth in her eyes warm and welcoming.

Fang opened his mouth to speak, but before he could…

"Get down!" Max cried.

She threw off her cloak, Firestorm galloping into the trees. She drew her bow and knocked and arrow, faster than the normal man could blink, then loosed it into a towering elm, felling a man from a branch nearly 50 feet straight up.

Standing in her stirrups, she quickly loosed another four arrows, effectively hitting all of her targets.

Men lunged from the underbrush as she was firing, attempting to spook Firestorm and wreak havoc on the group. Max steered Firestorm around with a tap of her heels, drawing her sword and leaping from the saddle.

Firestorm reared and kicked, slamming in several men's heads and crushing their ribs.

Max was just as deadly, swinging her sword with lethal accuracy. The blood splashed around her, her sword glistened with ruby lights as her footsteps became light, fast, and thrice as graceful as before.

Fang watched from Blaxton as she danced around her opponents, quickly and efficiently dispatching them, the look of concentration on her face clean and cold.

Fang snapped out of his daze and cantered to protect the carriage, his onyx sword in hand. He swung at the attackers, all who came into contact with his blade falling at his feet. Lunging and twisting, toying with them in a cruel way, taunting them, lashing out just to pull back, and fairly well destroying all of their faith in themselves.

Fang heard Max cry out, whether in pain or desperation he didn't know. He sliced through his own attackers and rushed to Max.

Firestorm was lunging and kicking, fighting to protect her friend and mistress.

Fang lunged into the fray, clearing out a circle and dispatching all of her assassins.

Max was lying in the middle of a circle of blood and bone, her cloak spread out around her like an angles torn and bloodied wings.

"No, no, no, Max. Max!" Fang whispered, "Don't die, don't die! You _can't _die! You've already saved me once! Now it's time for me to return the favor."

Fang picked Max up bridal style, with Firestorm following. He mounted Blaxton, and with one hand on the reins, and the other supporting Max, they galloped into the forest.

Fang had no idea as to where they were going, but Blaxton seemed to know the way, with Firestorm close behind.

Soon they came upon a picturesque lake, turquoise, perfectly round, surrounded by trees as old as time. Their boughs spread out, meeting in the middle, creating little shadows that flexed and fluttered in the wind.

The only creature was a pure white swan, with feathers as soft as snowflakes and a graceful, perfectly arched neck. It swam towards them as Fang dismounted, cradling Max to his chest.

"Help us," he pleaded with the swan, "Please."

**/ (*) / Hi! Brittany here! Stardust is going to start putting 1D line breaks in, so… Enjoy this little 'Meanwhile…'! / (*) /**

"Sire!" The page shouted, "Our assassins have failed!"

A deep voice rumbled, "What? How," He turned, "Could you let them _fail?_"

The page quaked and fell to his knees, "The p-p-princess was more prepared for an attack than we originally planned, and she and the prince were able to dispatch our warriors, but,"

"SILENCE!" He roared, "I don't want to hear your pitiful excuses!"

"Sire,"

"WHAT? How dare you interrupt me! If this is not important I don't want to hear it!"

"M-M-Maximum was injured with a poison spear."

The owner of the voice grinned maliciously, "Excellent… Perhaps the people will lose their princess after all… We will just have to see that plan through, won't we?"

The page saw just the barest flash of cold, hard blue eyes before he was whisked away into the darkness.


End file.
